TheLigauni were aCelto-Ligurian tribe dwelling near theMediterranean coast during theIron Age and theRoman period.
They are mentioned asLigaunorumque byPliny (1st c. AD).[1][2] A(colonia) in Liga in also attested in theEarly Middle Ages (814 AD).[3]
The ethnic nameLigauni is probably Celtic, stemming from an earlier *Ligamnī. It has been derived from the rootlīg- ('to strike'), withLigauni as 'the beating ones',[4] or fromliga- ('mud, sediment, silt').[2] According toPatrizia de Bernardo Stempel, such linguistically Celtic tribal names suggest that a Celto-Ligurian dialect played an important role among the languages spoken in ancient Ligury.[4]
Their territory was located east of theDeciates, west of theVerucini, south of theSuetrii, and north of theOxybii.[5] According to historianGuy Barruol, they were part of theSaluvian confederation.[6][7]
